Yesterday we had a serious bushfire alert, but despite a searingly hot day  with winds between 50 and 70km/h  and the smell of smoke in the air from grass fires to the west of the city, we’re still here.

Yesterday morning it was already 25C when I left for work and in the afternoon it was unpleasantly hot and windy, something round about 36 or 37C, but as I was going up the on ramp to the Commonwealth Bridge, the sky turned black and there was a squall of rain like gravel hitting the car and the temperature dropped a welcome six degrees in as many minutes. Driving back was fun with lots of bits of tree flying about but everybody seemed to be being careful.

All the national parks and bush reserves, including the one on the hill above our house were closed yesterday, and are staying closed today, but by about nine o’clock yesterday evening it had dropped to under 30C. As the sun went down we could see (and smell) smoke in the distance and this morning when I went for walk there was an orange glow to the south from smoke caught by the first rays of the sun.

However today it’s cooler, and while there’s still a breeze, the worst has passed for the moment …